


he's in a band

by notfangirlinginside



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, M/M, Minor Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier in a Band
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 19:38:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19837156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notfangirlinginside/pseuds/notfangirlinginside
Summary: Richie Tozier is in a band of which Bill is quite a fan, but Eddie not so much





	he's in a band

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first work published in ao3, though I tried to start a one shot book in wattpad and, though I still have it published and with several ideas in process, I wanted to update this and publish it here. Plz lemme know your thoughts!! Thx

18/19 y.o. | 1988

"Bill, no!" 

"But-" 

"No, I will not go to a concert of a band I don't even like, to listen to songs I have never heard, to be pushed and smashed against other people who, by the way, may be all drunk or high, and filthy in general. I won't." 

Bill’s shoulders came down along with his lips, letting the lower lip stand out a little. 

“Fine.” He muttered, leaving his cup of coffee on the table, turning to the indow in the same position, waiting for his plan B to work. 

“Oh, no, no no no. Bill, no, I really don’t want to go, so don’t force me, please.” Eddie begged. 

“It’s okay, r-really, I already said suh-so.” Bill stuttered quietly, now looking at his best friend at the other side of the table.

Eddie wasn’t capable of turning his eyes from the blue ones staring directly at him sadly, like he had just killed his pet or broken their favorite comic book. 

Eddie’s lip quivered, then he took a deep breath. 

Bill couldn’t belive it, was it really working? He saw Eddie grabbing his polyester cup without bringing it nowhere near his lips. He pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. 

Time for an upgrade of his techniques; he turned his head slightly to the side, mirroring a puppy, with his straight hair dangling with the angle.

“Oh, for fucks sake, I’ll go, just stop staring at me like that.” 

As he spoke, Bill changed his facial expression, soon showing all his teeth as he leaned forward on the table. 

“Really?! Oh my God, Eddie, thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me.” Quickly, before he could change his mind, he got up with his coffee on one hand, hugging his best friend as best as he could while repeating ‘thank you’s and disappearing through the cafe’s door. 

“Bastard.” Eddie muttered. He really meant what he said earlier. 

And he should have stick with that instead of agreeing when he found himself between a sea of people lessthan seventy-two hours later. 

God, he thought, how could anyone like this at all?   
Well, maybe, if he liked the band, he wouldn't be as bitter as he was at the moment. 

His senses changed from his sour thoughts of dislike towards the people of his city to alert when he looked forward and behind him and couldn't find the boy that begged him to go with him to the event. 

Panic kicked in.

Looking around rapidly around without finding him, his stomach got tighter, his lungs couldn’t fill themselves anymore , the space gap between him and strangers was closing and closing, leaving him no place to move at, no place to breath.

His instincts came in, reaching down to his fanny pack and grabbing his inhaler when he remembered - how stupid of him to even forget - that he had a backpack now. 

Fuck. 

He shouldn't have changed it. With the backpack, it wasn't as easy as opening it and taking the inhaler out. 

Now his breathing became more uneven, he was starting to get dizzy feeling everything closing around him, even the clothes he was wearing, he felt them tighter to his body, like they were trapping him and had forbidden him to move. 

Until an arm came from somewhere outside of the crowd and pulled him out. 

He closed his eyes while taking a quick deep breath, regulating his breathing pattern once again, not looking at who had saved him, but focusing on the fact he had no more people that close around him.

"Ar-are you o-o-okay?!" The stutter gave away who his savior was, and Eddie was so deeply thankful, since if it was someone else he might as well have another panic attack.

"Yes, I am. Thank you." 

Though, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here. 

Bill opened his mouth just to close it again when a sudden wave of shouts and high-pitched screams filled the air, changing his expressions to complete excitement. 

"Oh mah- my God! It's finally huh-huh-happening! I get to see them live!" The boy exclaimed, looking almost on the verge of tears of joy, which made his companion arch an eyebrow but smile slightly. 

It is one of the few times I've seen him truly happy since Georgie died.

He started to walk towards the crowd, suddenly remembering the boy behind him and turning to where Eddie was standing, before speaking. 

"I knew you didn't want to come, I know you're doing this for me and it gets you uncomfortable but please, please, let me go see us at the front." It wasn't his pleading eyes or the words he said that made him accept, but the fact that Bill almost never asked for anything for himself, and less without stuttering.

Eddie sighed. Why couldn’t he find a best friend that just liked his house and the library?

Soon, Eddie found himself at the front of the stage. It took a lot of kicks and pushes to him and from him, once he realized that people weren't nice in here, but he and Bill made it. Not much longer after he spoke, the supporting band finished their song and the lead singer spoke into the microphone, placed on the center of the stage.

"Thank you, Derry, for supporting us tonight!" The majority of the crowd gave applauses, out of politeness, Eddie guessed. "But as we were a mere opening show today, these guys were also an opening act in this same stage two years ago!" 

Now, people were getting excited. They were screaming, clapping, and yelling for the actual band to come out to the stage. Bill was one of them, as he had found his new Polaroid camera – he wanted to remember this moment on his life -, and looked as excited as ever. 

"Ladies and gentleman, it is a great pleasure of mine to introduce you to the best experience of your life; please welcome 'The Losers Club’" A round of applause and agitated screams was immediately heard coming from all angles and directions. 

A group of three boys came out to the stage as the members of the band that just played left to the back of it, which it lead to the backstage or so Eddie guessed. 

A dark-skinned one took his place behind the drums, but did a pose before holding the drumsticks before sitting down, to which the crowd exploded in applause once more. 

Taking his place in the left side of the stage, there was a curly-haired boy, nodding and smiling at the people in front of him, and bowed without taking the grin off his face soon before he took his- bass? guitar? Eddie couldn't tell from that far, but a distraction came next to the center of the stage that prevented him to tell the string instrument. 

A tall, slim boy, with relatively long and quite dirty hair appeared with a guitar already on his hand. A smile appeared on his face, but it wasn't like the other guy, no. This was the kind of smile someone full of himself would give, it was almost an egocentric smile, and it didn't help the fact that he had a cigarette on his mouth and fashionable but untidy appearance. 

But, it was the 80’s, untidy and fashionable held each other’s hand.

Eddie didn't like him right of the bat. But it didn't matter. He was going to be up on the stage performing, giving a damn about him and Bill, while he was going to be watching the show from the floor. 

"Hello, Derry!" The same dirty haired boy was the first to talk, and earned a loud wave of screams - mostly from girls - only for those two words. 

Eddie rolled his eyes. Fucking rockstars. It’s not like he was George Michael or anything.

"How're we doing tonight?" The curly haired boy - the bassist, noticed Eddie, who was now able to distinguish perfectly the different shapes of him and the other boy's instruments – spoke into the microphone, eaqrninhg the same loud screams as before, which made him smile even wider than before. "Great, I like to hear that." 

Quickly looking at the other boy, who gave him a nod with the same stupid egocentric smile as before, he added in a faster tone. 

"If you don't know us already, I'm Stan, Mike's behind the drums, and Trashmouth is the one whose voice you'll be hearing tonight, and we are 'The Losers Club'" With no further warning, the drums started to bang as loudly as they could along the guitar. 

Eddie's ears were almost bleeding, since he was not used to the sound of everything - the instruments, the screams, people singing at the top of their lungs -, but when he looked at Bill, he was singing the lyrics of the song, seeming to be having the time of his life. 

He smiled involuntarily, breathing deeply while thinking about how he would play this card every time Bill complained about something he wanted to do.   
\---  
"But did you see him? Oh Christ, he's really handsome up close." 

"Bill, we were like six meters away." 

"I know! Oh God, this was amazing." He suddenly opened his mouth and widened his eyes. "What if he saw me? I mean, in between the crowd, duh-do you think he was a-able to see m-me?" 

"Yeah, I guess he could, and, who knows, he probably did." As that statement, Bill grinned, suddenly seemed to be drawn inside the love thoughts swimming inside his skull. Eddie watched, a little shocked at how his friend looked like a lovesick teenager. 

"I don't get it; he isn't even that handsome, anyways." Eddie said as he continued walking alongside Bill, now looking at the ground, almost not realizing how his friend suddenly stopped before he spoke.

"What?! Are you blind? He's the most handsome dude on Earth! Well, no, there's Hugh Grant, but he's the m-most handsome du-dude in America, that's for sure."

"I don't know, Bill, your taste in guys is not the best." 

"You're saying that because I think Andrew McCarthy is cuter than that boy in Breakfast Club." The taller boy rolled his eyes, and Eddie raised his eyebrows. They always had this discussion. 

"His name is Judd Nelson, and no, I didn't say it because of that." 

"Oh, I see what it is then." He stated, with sudden realizement, arching a brow at his friend while smirking. 

"What?" 

"You are crushing on Richie." Bill sang, chuckling afterwards. 

"What? No! I don't even listen to the band nor know who he was until tonight" That was his first instinct talking, but after a few seconds, he added. "Well, I do-"

"Ha! I knew it! Everyone thinks Richie is cuter than Stan, but I have to disagree on that. I just hope he knows he's not underappreciated." 

“I wasn’t gonna say that, but, as you seemed so concerned, why don’t you tell him yourself?” 

Bill forrowed his eyebrows and followed the direction of his friend’s sight. They had encounters where the band bus was parked, and all the members where there packi8nhg up their stuff into the truck while laughing and – not surprisingly – Richie was smoking. 

"C'mon, that's your chance! Go talk to him - I mean, them." 

"Are you cra-crazy? No." But, after a few seconds, he frowned, telling his thoughts aloud. "Why-wha-who-?" 

He seemed to think every word carefully before asking. "Wu-what would I e-even tell the-them?" 

"Um, your name could be a pretty great start." Bill gave him a 'are-you-serious-?' look which made him laugh, maybe a little more than it should. But the whole scenario was just hilarious in Eddie’s head. 

Unfortunately - or fortunately - that drew the attention of the boys in front of him. Bill was too busy blushing to notice how Richie was eye-fucking Eddie, and Eddie was too busy pushing Bill towards them to notice how Stan had hearts in his eyes the second he laid his sight on Bill. At last, Eddie managed to move Bill alongside him, and elbowed him secretly to get him to say something.

"H-H-Hi, um, I'm B-B-Bill, this is Ed-E-Eddie, and I-w-we-I-well, we just wanted to say yo-your pe-per-performance was really good, I re-really liked it." He fiddled with his fingers, the heat that rose to his cheeks was slowly being cooled down, and now Eddie couldn't help but notice how Stan was just a few steps in front of the other two towards them, and was quick to answer.

"Oh, really? I-I, um, we are glad that you liked it, both of you, I mean." He chuckled nervously, earning a raised eyebrow from both his band mates and Eddie, but he was completely oblivious, as his only focal point was Bill's eyes and vice versa.

"Yeah, I was surprised you played 'Sincerity', but it's one o-of my favorites."

"Really? I wrote that song."

"What?"

"Well, yeah, I..." 

They kept a conversation going about the songs and how Bill discovered them, about how he was surprised they weren't as big as other bands yet, besides many other related topics, which was great for Eddie, but there was this awkwardness for the three left boys who weren't really a part of the conversation. Though Richie took care of that while hopping in the conversation while putting an arm around Stan's shoulders. 

"That's right, we are all so glad you liked our performance that, well, Stan my man, do you want to invite them or do I?" Having an inquiring look on his face whose eyes sight was now fixed upon Stan who had barely realized he had talked as he was now looking at Bill. 

Eddie, on the other hand, was giving him an annoyed look for interrupting the moment his friend was having with his crush. 

"Ah, sorry, what?" The curly haired guy asked when he realized someone had spoke to him, making Bill to spread a shy smile across his face. Eddie almost rolled his eyes at how starstruck his friend was - just that he wasn't starstruck anymore. 

When he saw that Stan shared his smile, he raised an eyebrow. There was no way in hell that they liked each other instantly. 

Right? 

Well, Richie couldn't agree, since he was the guy who liked Eddie instantly and was now trying hard not to look at him the rest of his life.

"Oh my-Well, since you are proved to be such dedicated fans, and we sure wanted to know you better, I was going to invite you two at a party we had toni-" 

"But we don't want to bother if you two had plans, or a date or-" Stan was quick to interrupt before Richie made a mistake.

"Oh, no, wait, no." Eddie was fast to state. "We're not dating. I'm sure Bill will love to go with you, so, I might as well leave now." 

But he wasn't getting out that quickly.

"And miss the party? No way, we're not letting you go that easy!" Richie exclaimed, making Eddie widen his eyes at him. 

Since he haven't notice how the dark haired boy was and have been looking at him, he never expect for him to ask him to stay, also considering that they met each other minutes ago. 

"Yeah, don't g-go just y-yet." Bill asked. “Maybe I’ll n-need another puh-pair.” 

The shorter one sighed. Another pair was a code for another pair of eyes watching him; they used it when they didn’t trust or know either someone or someplace they wanted to go. It was just to stay safe. 

“So, are you in?” Richie asked, lightly biting his lip, since he didn’t have the cigarette to chew on. 

Bill seemed to convince him way too easily.

They were now in a crowded house where, it was needless to say, Bill and Eddie didn't knew anyone. The second they stepped in, many eyes turned, since they were arriving with The Losers Band – was that their name? -, and people thought they were as extroverted and laid back as them. Lie. 

Eddie almost ran away when Stan leaved them alone to go put their stuff at some room in the back. 

"Don't g-go just yet, Eddie, ple-please! Think a-about how much this m-means to me; if a-anything ha-hap-happened, to who do I-I turn to?" The shorter boy sighed and rolled his eyes. He had a point. "Besides, you could ma-maybe meet so-someone. Richie was ob-obviously trying to t-talk to you the who-whole way here. Though you were a little ru-rude."

"Well, is not his business why I dress the way I do nor why I put my hair a certain way. I’m sorry, really, I found him-"

"You make me sound really gay." A voice said between the both of them and they jumped before realizing that it was, in fact, the boy they were talking about. 

"Aren't you?" Eddie answered, quite offensively. The annoying smirk appeared once more into the darker haired boy's face, annoying Eddie. Richie was really cute, extremely cute, but he needed an attitude check.

"Do you want to find out, huh?" Richie bit his lips while smirking at the comment, earning an eye roll from Eddie. 

"No, thank you, four-eyes.” 

"A little shallow, don't you think?"

"Look who's talking, the one who kept telling me how weird I look dress like this." 

“Was it really that annoying?”

“Yes, in fact, it was. You haven’t said anything towards me that’s not annoying since I met you.”

Silence fell on the three of them.

"Well, then, princess, I'll move out of your way." The taller boy finally stated, saying as told.

Eddie scoffed and turned to where his friend had been standing a few moments before but was now gone. 

"Great." He muttered, and turned once again to where the drinks where, almost feeling bad about how we talked to Richie. But, who cares? He’ll never see him again anyways.

When he finally made it to where the drinks where, he met a ginger girl whose name was Beverly; she was Stan's cousin and didn't want to be there but came for support. 

They stayed together the rest of the party, occasionally meeting with Bill and Stan, both who were smiling nonstop - 'they so kissed' was Eddie's first thought at he saw Bill's face -, and stayed the rest of the night together talking and drinking before they disappeared once again, and Eddie felt himself falling asleep. 

"Well, Bev, it was nice meeting you, but I'm going to go find some room in which there is no one fucking so I can sleep." She laughed at the statement, announcing that she was going to head home, and thanked him for their time as well. 

Once in the corridor on the upper floor, he listened closely to the sounds coming out of the rooms, hearing some nasty things that made him cringe, only hoping none of them were Bill, until he reached one that was quiet. 

Perfect.

Smiling to himself for his discover, almost as if he had found a golden ticket in a Wonka bar, he entered the room and closed the door quickly, not even looking around. 

He scanned the room, seeing an unmade bed, some books on a pile beside it, and an organized desk in the opposite corner.

When he looked at the window, a figured sitting there was shadowing the light in the room. 

"Uh, sorry, I didn't know this room was occupied." But the biggest surprise was when the person turned and Eddie could tell who it was. "Richie?"

"Hey." He simply answered, sounding calmed, as he looked out of the window again. "If you want to, I can leave, there’s-"

"No, don't worry, you can stay. I was just surprised to see you here and not downstairs at the actual party." At the comment, Richie chuckled and looked down while biting his lip. 

"Well, Eddie, if you must know, after a little while at a party like this, I get anxious, so I always find a place to hide." Eddie had a funny smile on his face as he was looking back at Richie. You really shouldn't judge by looks. "What about you? I thought you were gone by now, and - have you been drinking?" 

"Wow, thanks for the tone of surprise." He joked to lighten the air, but answered after. "Bill needed me here, so I didn't leave, and yeah, I have. Everybody is shocked by that, I don't know why." 

"Dude, you do realize you are wearing a yellow rumper and your shoes are polished, right?" They both laughed, and Eddie added. 

"Yeah, well, so far you've shown me you really shouldn't judge someone by its looks." 

"Oh, so you don't hate me anymore?" The boy joked, climbing out of the window and into the bed, sitting against the wall, right next to Eddie. 

"I didn't hate you before! I was just, y'know, a little skeptical." 

"Oh, yeah, sure, that's a word for it." The couple laughed again, but it died slowly to a comfortable silence. 

“I’m sorry for what I said before. It’s just-I don’t like anybody judging me nor my appearance without really knowing them, and with the impression you gave me…I dunno, it irritated me.”

"What was your first impression of me, then? What made you 'skeptical'?" He made air quotes with his fingers, and waited for the answer. But Eddie didn't know how to answer that without being a little offensive. At the end, a white lie didn't hurt, right?

"I don't know if it was the cigarette, the hair or your cocky grin, but I thought of you as a self-centered, egocentric guy." That was better than 'asshole', anyways. 

"Really? Well, I guess that's good." Eddie furrowed his eyebrows.

"Good? In what world is that good?" 

"That's how I wanna come off as on stage." He looked down to his fingers, looking as he was going to speak again, so Eddie waited. "I wanted to create sort of a character for while I'm up there, so I'm confident enough. I put on this facade that goes with the clothes and the hair. The cigarettes are constant, though." He chuckled but added shaking his head. "I have no idea as why I'm telling you this."

“It’s more likely you tell your secrets at nighttime because you’re more emotional.” When Richie arched a brow towards him, he cleared himself. “I study psychology.” 

“Oh, you’re still in college?” 

“Um, yeah?”

“I graduated last year, before the band really took off. I considered not finishing the degree, y’know, but I did, at last.” 

It took Eddie by surprise. He definitely didn’t picture Richie with a degree, nor this nice. 

Maybe I’ll give him a second shot. 

“Hey, can I sit with you up there?” 

And the hours went by, soon being three in the morning, as they laughed about something Richie said.   
For a second, he didn't know what it was; the alcohol, to empty room, or Richie's voice what made him lean in and kiss him. It build up, soon Richie gently getting off the window and grabbing Eddie’s legs, adjusting them around his waist. 

Slowly, they reached the bed, placing the smaller boy down gently. He started to kiss his neck, maybe leaving a bruise, while Eddie was running his hands down his back. 

Sooner than later, clothes were flying to the floor. Just as Eddie had only his briefs on, leaving Richie with his black pants on, the later stopped. 

“Are you okay with all this? I mean, you hated me less than ten hours ago.” HE laughed, looking at Eddie, who softly chuckled. 

“You are the only man that cares about that, I swear.” Laughing, he noticed something he hadn’t before on Richie’s expression. “Yes, Richard, I’m okay with this. Are you having second thoughts?”

“Oh, no, Eds, not at all. I just, I don’t know, feel like it’s too soon?” It came out as a question more than a statement, making Eddie raised his eyebrows. 

“Have you ever heard of ‘one night stands’?”  
“Of course, but maybe, just maybe, you could be a little more than that.” Eddie’s eyes softened, unconsciously tilting his head a little. 

“I get it, but, still, why would it be a problem?”

“Well, good things are worth waiting.” He stated, adding a wink at the end, making them both laugh. “So, what do you say?”

“Alright, let’s sleep, then.” 

“Do you want your overall or-?” The taller one asked while setting himself Eddie.

“No, let’s sleep like this. Is that okay?” 

“Hell yeah it is.” Richie exclaimed, pulling the blanket over them, quickly hugging Eddie after, falling asleep cuddling.

When Richie answered the kiss, putting a hand on his cheek, he thought he was sure what it was what made him lean in and kiss him. 

When Richie laid him down on bed and started to kiss his neck, he thought he knew what it was. 

When they both had their clothes off and in the floor, laughing through everything, he thought about the probable reason. 

But, when in the morning, he woke up to him tracing his fingers up and down Eddie's arm and smiled at him, he knew what it was. 

Him. The real him. 

The dork who let a guy he thought was cute inside his head when he told him everything. The one who cared about if he was comfortable during the whole time. The one who told him in the morning experiences of his life and listened to his own. The one who let Eddie see him in his thick glasses - 'but don't laugh!' - and made him coffee. 

The one who asked if they could see each other again and smiled when he got a yes.


End file.
